LIHEAP AT Funding Application Reminders for FY 2014

Share

Listed below are reminders that can be helpful in submitting a complete application for LIHEAP funding, especially if you are submitting your application in a form other than the Model Plan format.

For All Applications:
• Are you required to file a detailed application this year? Are you allowed to file an abbreviated application this year in lieu of a detailed application? Grantees that have submitted an Abbreviated Plan for the past two years must file a Detailed Plan for the third year. Also, grantees that are making more than two substantive changes should complete the detailed application.
• Have you used the current statute in developing your application? (See our website under “Guidance, Policies, and Procedures” at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/ ).
• Have you used the current implementing regulations in developing your application? (See our website under “Guidance, Policies, and Procedures” at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/).
• Have you stated the 16 assurances verbatim from the statute? Or have you used the blanket certification (i.e., I certify that the State [Territory] will comply with the 16 assurances contained in Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, as amended)? NOTE: Either Indian Tribes/Tribal organizations or Territories whose regular allotments are $200,000 or less are not subject to assurance 15.
• A Chief Executive Officer may delegate authority to a specific person to certify to the required assurances. If he/she has done so, have you included a signed copy of the written delegation? The delegation must state specifically that the person is authorized to sign assurances for LIHEAP, not just that he/she is authorized to administer the LIHEAP program or to sign assurances in general without specifying that the authorization includes LIHEAP assurances.
• Have you submitted the required LIHEAP Household Report which includes information on the number and income levels of those households applying for and those households receiving assistance and on the number of assisted households with elderly or disabled members or with children under 6? (Either Territories with allotments of $200,000 or less or Tribal applicants need only supply information on the number of households receiving assistance under each component of the program.)
• Have you submitted your report on funds to be carried over from FY 2013 to FY 2014 and/or available for reallotment?
• Have you described your public participation process? (Timely and meaningful public participation in the development of the plan must be conducted by all grantees before their plans are complete.)
• Have you filed the Lobbying, Debarment and Suspension, and Drug-free Workplace requirement certifications? (Tribes are not required to file the Lobbying certification.)
• Have you completed the Program Integrity Assessment and Plan? While LIHEAP grantees are not required to use the model format, the submission must include all of the information requested in the model format.

For Detailed Applications:
• Have you provided a description of how you will carry out each of the assurances? (You may omit descriptions for assurances 1, 9, 11, and 14.) Remember: If you are operating more than one LIHEAP component, you must provide a description of how you will carry out each assurance for each program component (i.e., if you are operating a heating component, your application should contain a description for each of the assurances as it relates to the heating component; if you are operating a crisis program as well, your application should also contain a description for each of the assurances as it relates to the crisis component.) If a description of how you will carry out an assurance is the same for all components, you may provide the description once and note that this description applies to all of your operating components (heating, cooling, crisis, and/or weatherization, as appropriate).
• For States, have you held or scheduled a public hearing and included the date?
• Have you specified whether you use any DOE rules for LIHEAP funds spent on weatherization activities? For those grantees whose applications do not state that they use DOE guidelines for weatherization activities: Have you provided a description of the kinds of weatherization activities you will provide to eligible households?
• Have you provided current income eligibility standards for each of your LIHEAP operating components? Does this description also reflect whether you are using poverty guidelines or State median income guidelines and the year to which those guidelines apply? (Assurance 2)
• Have you provided a description of your outreach efforts? (Assurance 3)
• Have you provided a description of how you coordinate LIHEAP with other programs? (Assurance 4)
• Have you described your benefit levels for each operating component? Does your description indicate how benefit levels are determined, including the elements by which they are varied, i.e., energy costs, household size, and income? Have you described any other actions you take to target benefits to households with the highest energy burden? (Assurance 5)
• Have you provided a description of how you selected local administering agencies? (Assurance 6)
• Have you provided a description to meet the requirements of the statute regarding required protections for households whose benefits are paid to energy suppliers on their behalf? (Assurance 7)
• Does your description reflect how benefit levels will not differentiate between categorically eligible households and income eligible households? (Assurance 8)
• Have you described how you treat owners and renters equitably for each of your LIHEAP operating components? (Assurance 8)
• Have you provided both a program monitoring and a fiscal monitoring description? (Assurance 10)
• Have you provided a description of your fair hearings process? (Assurance 13)
• Have you provided information on whether each of your components is
administered at the local level by the department that administers the welfare program? If your program is administered by the welfare department, have you described your alternate process for outreach and intake for each component? (This requirement does not apply to Tribes or to Territories whose annual allotments are $200,000 or less.) (Assurance 15)
• Have you made sure that no more than 5% of your LIHEAP funds will be used for services to encourage and enable households to reduce their home energy needs and thereby the need for energy assistance? (Assurance 16)
• Have you described your criteria for designating an emergency?
• Have you described what you will do with any crisis funds not expended by
March 15?
• Have you provided estimates of the amount of funds you will use for each of your operating components?
• If you have leveraging activities that you believe will count toward the leveraging incentive fund on the basis of the criteria in 45 CFR 96.87(d)(2)(iii), have you described those activities, and how they are integrated in your LIHEAP program?

For Abbreviated Applications:
• Have you described all changes in the above information from your most recent detailed application?
• Have you made clear that you are using current poverty level or State median income data and stated the percentage?
• For States, have you held or scheduled a public hearing and included the date?

Reminders to ALL Grantees
All eligible States and Territories interested in receiving LIHEAP funding must submit their LIHEAP applications electronically in OLDC on or before September 1, unless the Department agrees to a later date. All information required to complete the LIHEAP application must be submitted by December 15, unless the Department agrees to a later date.

All eligible Tribes and Tribal organizations interested in receiving LIHEAP funding must submit their LIHEAP applications electronically in OLDC by September 1. If LIHEAP applications are not submitted electronically on or before September 1, the Tribe will be ineligible for direct funding from the Federal government under current regulations unless the State(s) in which the Tribe is located agrees that the Tribe may apply at a later time. Include a copy of the Statement from the State agreeing to the later application date. All information required to complete the LIHEAP application must be submitted by December 15, unless the State agrees to a later date.